Hundreds of people gathered on Sunday to protest against NATO, rising military spending, and the risk of war with Iran. The protest comes two days before a summit of the alliance in The Hague, where leaders are expected to discuss increasing defence budgets.
“Let’s invest in peace and sustainable energy,” Belgian politician Joe d'Haese said addressing a crowd in a park near the summit location.
Although the protest focused on NATO and the war in Gaza, many Iranians joined in response to Sunday's attacks carried out by the United States on three key Iranian nuclear sites. Demonstrators were seen holding signs reading “No Iran War,” and "Hands off Iran."
“We are opposed to war. People want to live a peaceful life,” said 74-year-old Hossein Hamadani, an Iranian living in the Netherlands. "Things are not good. So why do we spend money on war?” he added.
Arno van der Veen, spokesperson for the Counter Summit Coalition for Peace and Justice, which organised the protest, said the role of NATO has become problematic now that the US decided to join Israel in the war in Iran.
"If there is a retaliation from Iran now, which would be just and legitimate under international law, then we, as the Netherlands, would also be at war with Iran," he told Euronews.
"The next step is a nuclear war. And that is what we are incredibly worried about, and why we can see that the moment you buy more weapons, the chances increase that you will also use them. And that is life-threatening," he warned.
Anti-NATO activists are often criticised for having a supposedly pro-Russian stance. Van der Veen emphasised, however, that his organisation stands against Russian imperialism, while also opposing US imperialism.
"They are both now trying to divide the natural resources in the ground in Ukraine," he said. "The population of Ukraine is the victim of this war, and also the population of Russia, because they are all sent into the army."
The Netherlands is hosting the annual NATO summit, starting Tuesday, with world leaders meeting on Wednesday.
Leaders plan to agree on higher defence spending, as pushed by US President Donald Trump. Talks were nearly complete last week, until Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez told NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte that asking Spain to spend 5% of its GDP on defence was “unreasonable and counterproductive.”
Since Russia invaded Ukraine over three years ago, NATO countries have increased defence spending. But nearly a third still do not meet the current 2% target.
The summit is under tight security, with the largest safety operation ever in the Netherlands, called “Orange Shield.” It involves thousands of police and military officers, drones, no-fly zones, and cybersecurity teams.
